This is a list of all 12 bridges from the suspension bridge inventory crossing Red River. Please note that different rivers with the same name will be grouped together. For example, selecting 'Bear Creek' shows bridges across several different Bear Creeks. Also, similarly named rivers are grouped separately. For example, 'River Dee' (UK) bridges are grouped separately from 'Dee River' (Australia) bridges. Wherever you see a "Bridgemeister ID" number you can click it to isolate the bridge on its own page. Click here to go to the list of crossings.

See (suspension bridge) - Texas, USA. The 98th Meridian bridge may match this unknown "Red River" bridge photo. AUB describes the Byers bridge, "This bridge, three spans of 567' each, one side span of 107', and a 16' roadway, had originally been built in 1914."

Legend has it the bridge was burned during a dispute. This likely occurred before 1955. The road that leads to the Texas side of the former crossing is "Burned Out Bridge Road." Follow the image of the derelict tower to see the remains of the bridge.

AUB mentions: "In January 1924, a contract was entered into with Nocona Bridge Company for a bridge across Red River, nine miles north of Nocona, connecting Texas and Oklahoma. The plans called for a 700' span, 16' roadway, and the main cables to contain 1,000 No. 9 galvanized wires each. The building of this, [the Austin Bridge Company's] first complete cable bridge, and the experience gained therefrom helped to launch Austin Bridge Company into an interesting and profitable line of work."

I'm not sure if this bridge should be "Bryan-Fannin" or "Bryant-Fannin". While it unquestionably connected Fannin County to Bryan County, Oklahoma, according to a www.rootsweb.com article (Fannin County TXGenWeb - Ferry's in Fannin County, from Pat Pryor, by Kathy J. Ellis) it was erected at a site known as "Bryant's Crossing" named for a local, Dave Bryant. The Steinman inventory lists it as "Bryan-Fannin". AUB mentions it as "Bryant-Fannin". The Rootsweb article also mentions it collapsed in 1940 under weight of a truck.

An article in the December 6, 1940 issue of The Port Arthur News (Texas) titled: "Suspension Bridge Plunges Into Red River" describes the collapse: "Owners of a $75,000 tollbridge which plunged into the Red River Wednesday when a suspension cable anchor pulled loose were undecided today whether it would be rebuilt. The bridge, owned by the Austin Bridge company of Dallas, was near Telephone, Tex., 12 miles north of here, and was several miles from a principal highway. Most of the traffic from the Bonham area toward Oklahoma is across a structure built recently to replace a toll bridge at nearby Sowell's bluff that collapsed in 1930. Mrs. Jim Freeman, toll keeper, said she heard a 'rumble' and looked up to see the 'deadman anchor' pull loose, throwing the entire weight of the 1,300 foot span on the other cable. It snapped, and the flooring and steel framework of the bridge sagged into the water. No one was on the structure when it fell."

The November 1933 issue of The Wisconsin Engineer (a publication of the University of Wisconsin) has an article by C.W.P. Walter about research that was being performed by the University of Wisconsin's Engineering Department: "The particular hardware laden contrivance [in the Engineering Building] is a half-model of the Red River Bridge which carried light highway traffic between Clarksville, Texas, and Idabel, Oklahoma. In the early part of this year movement of the Red River as a result of flood waters washed away one of the intermediate piers supporting the end spans, and cause the cable to drop and be subjected to impact loading. It was contended by the company owning the bridge that the cable was overstressed and injured to such an extent that it would be necessary for the insurance company to replace the cable as well as the pier. A committee... was appointed to investigate the questions involved. While the investigation proceeded the Red River continued to scour away the foundation of the existing piers, ultimately causing the bridge to collapse completely."

AUB mentions this bridge very briefly: "In 1928, [Jim Diamond] was employed by Austin Bridge Company as a consultant on the super-structure and cable work for the White River bridge at Des Arc. Later in the same year, he represented the owners as job engineer on the bridge built by the Company across Red River above Clarksville, Texas."

The Texas Department of Transportation web site mentions in an article titled "Historic Suspension Bridges: Advent of the State Highway Department": "Five of the eleven suspension bridges built by [Austin Bridge Company] were toll bridges over the Red River. The Red River is notorious for its volatile, melting, red clay banks. The bridge between Clarksville, Texas, and Idabel, Oklahoma, was built by ABC in 1928, and washed out during flooding in 1932."

According to a www.rootsweb.com article (Fannin County TXGenWeb - Ferry's in Fannin County, from Pat Pryor, by Kathy J. Ellis), "when in 1932 this bridge fell, many people said that acid had been put on the cables to break them so that people from Oklahoma could not cross to Bonham."

However, the true date of collapse may have been in 1934. The February 2, 1934 issue of The Daily Oklahoman has a front-page article with a photo of the bridge with collapsed deck. The photo is captioned: "The Red River Bridge on Highway 22 Near Durant After the Midnight Crash," and the article reads: "Here Is the debris of a $60,000 investment made by the states of Oklahoma and Texas eight months ago when they purchased the Bonham-Durant bridge across the Red river on highway 22. Three of the five spans of the 1,500-foot suspension bridge turned upside down and dropped into the river bed when a four-Inch wire cable rusted and broke in two about 15 feet from the ground on the Texas side. A lull in the usual heavy traffic across the bridge prevented accidents. The crash came at midnight, and one motorist had barely reached the Texas side when the cable gave away. Other motorists stopped their cars just in time to witness the spans of the bridge crash 40 feet into the stream. The bridge was built in 1926 and was operated as a toll bridge until 1933 when the two states bought it and made it a free crossing."

All I have to go on here is the photo. It is marked only as "Red River Valley". The towers strongly resemble other Austin Bridge Company suspension bridges. Upon close inspection of the photograph this bridge appears to have at least two main spans.

See 1914 98th Meridian - Byers vicinity, Texas, USA. The bridge pictured here may be the "98th Meridian" bridge at Byers, Texas across the Red River. AUB describes the Byers bridge, "This bridge, three spans of 567' each, one side span of 107', and a 16' roadway, had originally been built in 1914."